Cardiovascular imaging modalities in the diagnosis and management of rheumatic heart disease.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where the capacity for diagnosis and evaluation of disease severity and complications is not always optimal. While the medical history and physical examination are important in the assessment of patients suspected to have RHD, cardiovascular imaging techniques are useful for confirmation of the diagnosis. Echocardiography is the workhorse modality for initial evaluation and diagnosis of RHD. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance is complementary and may provide additive information, including tissue characteristics, where echocardiography is inadequate or non-diagnostic. There is emerging evidence on the role of computed tomography, particularly following valve replacement surgery, in the monitoring and management of RHD. This article summarises the techniques used in imaging RHD patients, considers the evidence base for their utility, discusses their limitations and recognises the clinical contexts in which indications and imaging with various modalities are expanding.

Cardiac Structure and Function in Morbidly Obese Parturients: An Echocardiographic Study.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide is a major threat to global health. Cardiac structural and functional changes are well documented for obesity as well as for pregnancy, but there is limited literature on morbidly obese parturients. We hypothesized that there are both cardiac structural and functional differences between morbidly obese pregnant women and pregnant women of normal body mass index (BMI). METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study was performed in 2 referral maternity units in Cape Town, South Africa, over a 3-month period. Forty morbidly obese pregnant women of BMI ≥40 kg·m (group O) were compared to 45 pregnant women of BMI ≤30 kg·m (group N). Cardiac structure and function were assessed by transthoracic echocardiography, according to the recommendations of the British Society of Echocardiography. The 2-sample t-test with unequal variances was used for the comparison of the mean values between the groups. RESULTS: Acceptable echocardiographic images were obtained in all obese women. Statistical significance was defined as P < .0225 after applying the Benjamini-Hochberg correction for multiple testing. Mean (standard deviation) mean arterial pressure was higher in group O (91 [8.42] vs 84 [9.49] mm Hg, P < .001). There were no between-group differences in heart rate, stroke volume, or cardiac index (84 [12] vs 79 [13] beats·minute, P = .103; 64.4 [9.7] vs 59.5 [13.5] mL, P = .069; 2551 [474] vs 2729 [623] mL·minute·m, P = .156, for groups O and N, respectively). Stroke volume index was lower, and left ventricular mass was higher in group O (30.14 [4.51] vs 34.25 [7.00] mL·m, P = .003; 152 [24] vs 115 [29] g, P < .001). S' septal was lower in group O (8.43 [1.20] vs 9.25 [1.64] cm·second, P = .012). Considering diastolic function, isovolumetric relaxation time was significantly prolonged in group O (73 [15] vs 61 [15] milliseconds, P < .001). The septal tissue Doppler index E' septal was lower in group O (9.08 [1.69] vs 11.28 [3.18], P < .001). There were no between-group differences in E' average (10.7 [2.3] vs 12.0 [2.7], P = .018, O versus N) or E/E' average (7.85 [1.77] vs 7.27 [1.68], P = .137, O versus N). Right ventricular E'/A' was lower in group O (1.07 [0.47] vs 1.29 [0.32], P = .016). CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac index did not differ between obese pregnant women and those with normal BMI. Their increased left ventricular mass and lower stroke volume index could indicate a limited adaptive reserve. Obese women had minor decreases in septal left ventricular tissue Doppler velocity, but the E/E' average values did not suggest clinically significant diastolic dysfunction.